Pantani, Ullrich used EPO in 1998 Tour de France, Senate report

Italian Marco Pantani and German cyclist Jan Ullrich both used the banned blood-booster erythropoetin (EPO) during the 1998 Tour de France, a French parliamentary commission report said Wednesday.

This year's tour de France winner Chris Froome climbs Mont Ventoux

Pantani, who died of a cocaine overdose in 2004, won the controversial race, with Ullrich taking second place.

The report identified many other riders who had used EPO, including Erik Zabel of Germany and Italian Mario Cipollini.

Others were Italians Andrea Tafi, Nicolas Minali, Fabio Sacchi, Spanish world champion Abraham Olano and his compatriots Marcos Serrano and Manuel Beltran, German Jens Heppner and Dutch rider Jeroen Blijlevens.

French riders Laurent Jalabert, Jacky Durand and Laurent Desbiens, were also found to have doped with EPO in the 1998 Tour.

Denmark's Bo Hamburger and American Kevin Livingstone used it in 1998 and 1999.

But the commission found no hard evidence that American Bobby Julich, who was third, also used EPO, as Le Monde newspaper reported Tuesday.

The findings were based on comparisons made of retrospective testing results from 2004 and a list of samples from the 1998 Tour de France and the 1999 race won by disgraced US rider Lance Armstrong.

Pantani’s family and the professional cyclists’ union, CPA, opposed publishing the names of riders who had cheated, arguing that it allows no means of defence against the charges.

Doping affects all sports, both professional and amateur, the commission found.

While judging cycling the worst tainted, it also examined football and tennis, with France football coach Didier Deschamps questioned behind closed doors.

The Senate commission makes 60 recommendations, including that all sporting events held in France, including the Roland Garros, should be subject to France national control and that the national doping energy take charge of prevention.